A blog that deals with biblical topics and Christian Living

Month: June 2014

I like technology. I’m not an anti-tech kinda guy. In fact, if I err, I err on the side of too much tech. In many ways, technology has changed our lives for the better. I mean, does anyone really want to live in a world without Angry Birds? And on a less humorous note, paperless billing has certainly made my world a lot less stressful. Technology is an instrument that can be harnessed for the good or for the bad.

More than a few church growth experts have detailed the fact that from the 70’s to the mid 90’s churches remained largely unchanged in terms of technology. Interestingly, in roughly the last two decades churches have made changes and made them drastically and rapidly. Screens are now normative, along with mood lighting, and a host of other changes as well. Musical styles have shifted and diversified, church branding is a mainstream concept, and churches are finally utilizing the benefits of free social media options. For the most part, I’m on board with these things (although I’d love to hear the old hymns a little more often).

But there is a growing concern that has been plaguing my mind for a good while now. Are we substituting genuine worship with atmosphere? For years when this question popped into my head, I pushed it back. Surely, the flashing song lyrics augmented by the motion loop background makes understanding the lyrics much easier thereby creating the optimal worship experience. Right? And then one night the church where I am privileged to serve (Apostolic Tabernacle) experienced the unthinkable. Our computers all malfunctioned at once and we were forced to do church without the support of our usual high-tech accents. We entered the service with high levels of anxiety, but something amazing happened that night; we experienced one of the most dynamic worship services of the year (on a midweek Bible Study too).

Now, is my little story conclusive proof that technology is hindering our worship services? No. However, if you begin to pay attention, and keep an open mind, I think that you will gradually notice that in many cases we are moving away from genuine worship. I fear that we often settle for well-crafted and finely tuned atmospheres over genuine moves of God.

Is my goal to see technology removed from our worship services? Certainly not. I am simply suggesting that we begin a process of self-evaluation. We can get so caught up in the graphics, the presentations, the motions, the colors, the branding, the flow, the timing, the relevance, the aesthetics, and the perfectly timed video clips that we forget to allow room for spiritual things.

Here’s a few questions that we should all consider from time to time:

Are we spending more time on the physical atmosphere than we are in prayer and study?

Are we emphasizing the image of a physical space more that we are seeking a move of the Holy Ghost?